By now you may have caught on that when I am short for time and need to do a post, I will dig up a picture book to review. Because they only take a few minutes to read, and I can only read so many novels in a week.

Today's choice is Bob by Tracey Campbell Pearson. I can't say that I recall reading anything else by her, though it seems she has quite a few to her names, as well as a pretty cool looking website, here. Bob is a rooster, and a pretty spiffy looking one at that. Unfortunately, despite his fancy plumage he is not so hot at the crowing. Bob tries to learn, but he has all the wrong teachers. He learns how to MEOW-MEOW from the cat, how to WOOF-WAG from the dog, how to RIBBIT-RIBBIT-HOP-HOP from the frog, and tries to chew his non-existent cud with the cows. Finally Bob meets a fellow rooster who helps him out with the crowing. When Bob returns to the coop, he manages to scare away an intruding fox with a mixture of all the things he's learned, making him a hero.

This one would be good for reading aloud, as all the sounds build together as each episode occurs. However, I think it's a little pedestrian. We've all read a million books like this, and I just don't think it's that great. It's not terrible either, mind you, it's just sort of okay.

Bob written and illustrated by Tracey Campbell Pearson
ISBN 0374408718
32 pages